Riot Fest’s founder was taken aback at Ald. Roberto Maldonado’s comments about not wanting the three-day festival to return to Humboldt Park and planned to meet with him this week to address his concerns and opposition.
The effort to restore the park grounds is still ongoing several months after thousands of concertgoers trampled into the park amid rain last September and left the park a muddy mess. The festival last year took up much of the park from North Avenue to the north to Division Street to the south and California Avenue to the east and Kedzie Avenue to the west.
Maldonado, of the 26th Ward, supported the festival at the park for the past three years because of the economic benefit to the community he represents. But as RedEye first reported last week, he changed his mind because of damage to the park and the disruption the fest caused for other park users.
“After the aftermath of the last Riot Festival, now I have to have a different position because it was a big mess, which still the park is trying to rectify,” he said.
Riot Fest founder Michael Petryshyn said last week he was “extremely surprised” at Maldonado’s opposition. He said he wants Riot Fest to stay in Humboldt Park.
“This is our home,” he said. “We are invested in this community.”
Additional landscape repairs are being made and Riot Fest would like to make infrastructure improvements to the park as well, he said.
One issue both sides disagreed on is the festival’s big footprint last year.
Petryshyn maintains the alderman said he would not support the event last year unless the festival entrance was located at Division Street and Mozart Drive. Creating an entrance there resulted in a change to the entire footprint of the fest last year, encompassing low-lying areas they had not planned to use on the east side of the park, he said. The most-damaged parts of the park are where two stages were set up in areas that were not part of the original footprint and on land that had drainage issues, he said.
The alderman denied it was his decision to get Riot Fest to change their footprint last year, saying the decision on the layout is made between Riot Fest, the park district and the police department.
Riot Fest, which is sponsored by RedEye this year like it was last year, is scheduled for Sept. 11-13 in Chicago. But the festival has not submitted permit applications yet for a 2015 event, according to Chicago Park District spokeswoman Kiera Ellis.
More Top Picks Best Nonstick Frying Pans For Families
Petryshyn shared more than two dozen letters of support from neighborhood associations, residents, businesses, state and county politicians, and even John Stirratt, the bassist for Wilco, that were addressed to Mayor Emanuel asking that permits be granted for the festival.
“Nonetheless, between the support we have received from the Mayor’s office, congressmen, state legislatures, county commissioners and the many Alderman in having Riot Fest’s permanent home in Humboldt Park — just like Fiestas Puertorriqueñas and Fiesta Boricua — we are completely confident that any and all future concerns from Alderman Maldonado will be handled in the fashion we know best: as good neighbors,” Petryshyn said in a statement.